The U.S. economy probably grew in the third quarter at the fastest pace this year as gains in consumer spending and business investment helped sustain a recovery on the brink of faltering, economists said before a report today.
Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 2.5 percent annual pace after advancing 1.3 percent in the previous three months, according to the median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Household purchases, the biggest part of the economy, may have climbed more than twice as fast as in the second quarter.
A drop in gasoline prices coupled with cuts in savings made the pickup in consumer spending possible as the pace of growth failed to reduce an unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent. The lack of jobs prompted the Obama administration and Federal Reserve policy makers to propose additional measures aimed at stimulating growth and hiring.
“The U.S. economy finished the third quarter a lot better than it started,” said David Semmens, a U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in London. “While the recovery at first appeared to have lost its way, it is certainly not off track.”
